Chelsea to gazump Juventus for Schalke 04 left back — reports

Somehow, Schalke 04 have allowed versatile 23-year-old Sead Kolašinac’s contract to run down to the point where he’s only got six months remaining on it. That means he’s free to discuss terms with any club outside of Germany, and agree a pre-contract for a summer move. That latter bit has not happened yet, though Juventus had apparently been the favorites to get him.

I say had because if one of Transfer Oracle Di Marzio’s minions is to be believed, Chelsea just might have taken over the pole position.

Earlier reports claimed that Juventus were trying to close on the deal for January and were willing to throw in a token €5m to grease the wheels. While that might motivate Schalke to either sell or step up their efforts to sign him (so far they’ve done neither), Kolašinac has maintained all along that he’s not really concerned about his future, like at all, and simply wants to finish the season at the club where’s been since his late teens.

Kolašinac, who’s an international teammate of Chelsea backup goalkeeper Asmir Begović, could certainly add to Conte’s options on the left flank and his versatility would no doubt be a highly valued asset just as it had been for Ivanović and currently is for the likes of Pedro and Aké. He’s a tall, strong, technically proficient player, nothing flashy but more than capable.